Roller skate antifriction bearing



Sept. 16, 1952' P. REBMANN ROLLER SKATE ANTIF'RICTION BEARING Filed Nov. 29, 1949 Gttornegs Patented Sept. 16, 1,952

UNITED STA-TE S AT EN T Q F'F ICE ROLLER SKATE 'A'NTIFRICTION BEARING Raul- Bebmann, Wayne, Mich.

ApplicationNovember 29, 1949; Serial No. 13'0;020- 20mm. (01. 301-517) This invention relates to roller skates :'.'and,- in

particularto roller-skate wheels and axl munits;

the skatesuddenly and probably throwing the skater-to the floor with possible serious=injuriesr Secondly, when the wheelor-roller is to be-replaced,- it'isnecessary-'to--take=the entire bearing'apart; if} it has not already separated and itsrollers become lost ordamaged; Thirdly', the rollerscannot be replaced or" changed without disassemblingv the bearings into several parts. The presentinvention eliminates all of these defects by providing arollerbearing which will continue to: rolleven though the wood-roller splits oh, and whichdoes-notseparate---orlose any of its parts: Moreover, inithe presentinvention, the roller can be-changed withou'tdisassembling the bearing;-

One object of' this invention is to" provide a roller skate bearing which" will'remain in posi tion withouti shedding any of its parts,- even though therollensplits off completely and becomes separated,

. Another object 'istoprovide'a roller skate antifriction' hearing which will continue to roll on the floor, even though the roller itself breaks away, thereby, preventing damage: to" the floor and possible injury to the skater.

Another object is to provide a roller skate antifriction'ijbearing *in'which' rollers can be removed andinterchanged' without disturbing or disassembling the bearing: v

In thedrawingsz' 1 Figure 1" is a central vertical section, .partlyJin elevation, of a roller skate wheeland axl'e a'sse'mbly employing the roller skateanti frictionbearing construction of the-present invention;

Figure;2 is a side elevation of the wheel-,and axle assembly of Figure-1, with; a portion of the closure disc and oil ring broken away to disclose the interior construction; and

Figure 3 is a fragmentary cross-section taken along the line 3-3 in Figure 2.

sembly; generally designated I as including an anti -friction bearing =unit; generally. designated I I rotatably-supportingaroller I2- uponan axle I3 mounted in acarriage l4. The 'carriage ls is in turn connected to the usualconventionalioot platform or support (not 7 shown) and l the a re.- mainder of theskate' may be of-anyg suitable type, the details-0f which are beyond the scope of the present invention,

The axle I3 is preferably "knurledas at I 5 to prevent it "from rotating inthe bore- I6- of the carriage 14, base projectiond I for receivingthe spondingly threaded bore'2Itin the end of the raceportion 22; 'Ifheinner' race portions 22 and 23 are thus separabl'e from oneanotherat-the threaded junction 26; 21 1 and at" their opposite ends are-provided withi annular curved rac'eways 28" and 29rrespectively"receivingdouble rows of bearing balls 30 and 3|; oppositely facing cages or ball retainers132 of fannular, form have apertures 33 for receiving. the ,balls,.30 and-'31," andv portions '34 (Figure 3) extend between they-balls to' space them properly, around the r'acewayi 28 or 29. The ends of "the retainers ,32 are. engaged by oil rings 35"and ,36ioffeltior othersuitable ma! terial for'k'eeping' thejjlub'ricantinrthe bearing and, also for keeping dust out, The-oil ring. 36- is mounted. on f a, reduced; diameter; portion 31 ofjthe carriage }I [and is backed up, by. a washer 38; The; inner, race l 8. isiprovided with acentral surface. 39. interconnecting the, raceways: 28;-

The, felt .oil ring, 3 5g held in 3 position by an end; cap :or, closure disc; 40 having anannular; flange 4 I projecting inwardly: and provided with a threaded portion 42 i which is threaded =into,.a

correspondingly threadedv bore 43-; in, a" hollow cylindrical outer,- bearing, race, generally designated 44. The, latter; has counterbores J 45- and 46 extending inwardly from the opposite ends thereof terminating in annular curved raceways 4'! and 43 configured similarly to the racew'ays 28 and 29 and placed oppositely to them (Figure 1). The bores 45 and 46 contain the double rows of balls 30 and 3! together with their retainers 32 and oil rings 35 and 36. The raceways 41 and 48 are interconnected by a smaller diameter bore 49 which, however, is sufliciently larger in diameter than the central portion 39 of the inner race [8 to provide an annular clearance space and lubricant chamber 50 between the outer and inner bearing races 44 and I8.

The outer race [4 is provided with a cylindrical outer surface (Figure 1) terminating at its inner end in an annular flange 52 and at its outer end in a threaded portion 53. The flange 52 fits into a correspondingly spaced annular recess 54 in the end of the bore 55 extending through the roller i2, whereas a, similar recess 56 is provided in the opposite end thereof for receiving an internally threaded annular retaining ring 5'! threaded upon the threaded portion 53 of the outer race 44. The closure disc 40 is provided with a peripheral flange 58 which extends outward a sumcient distance to engage the outer end of the retaining ring 5'! so as to hold it in position. The closure disc 40 and retaining ring 51 are provided with diametrically spaced recesses or sockets 59 and 60 respectively (Figure 2) for receiving a conventional spanner wrench.

In the operation of the -invention, the parts are assembled as shown in Figure 1 with the retaining ring 5'! tightly threaded upon the threaded portion 53 of the outer race 44 and with the end cap or closure disc 49 screwed firmly into closing and retaining position. The skater then uses the skates in the ordinary way, the peripheries 8| of the rollers l2 rolling upon the floor as the skater moves over the floor. If the skater wishes to change to smaller or larger rollers l2, he merely removes the end cap 40 and retaining ring 51 by means of an ordinary spanner wrench, and thereafter pushes the roller l2 ofi the surface 55 of the outer race 44 by pressure on the end adjacent the flange 52. He then substitutes another roller l2 of the desired diameter by pushing it upon the outer race surface 55 by end pressure in the reverse direction until its inner end recess 54 passes over the flange 52 of the outer race 44 into the position shown in Figure 1. He then'replaces the retaining ring 51 and end cap 40 by a reverse niotion to that employed in removing them. Thus, the bearing. H itself has been completely undisturbed in changing the roller 12, and its adjustments remain constant. In this manner, damaged or worn rollers l2 may be easily and quickly replaced at small expense without disturbing the bearing adjustments.

If the skater splits a roller l2 while he is skating and the halves of the roller break away from the bearing II, the outer race of the bearing II will touch the floor and, since it is supported on the anti-friction balls 30 and 3|, will continue to roll on the flange 52 and retaining ring 51'. Thus, the rolling of the skate will not be halted abruptly as in prior roller skates, and little or no damage to the floor will result. Moreover, the axle I9 and nut will be prevented from digging into the floor and halting the skate, as in prior skates. Furthermore, the bearing balls and 3| and all other parts of the bearing are retained within the bearing I l itself and cannot separate and roll away, thereby causing possible accidents to other skaters 4 as well as inconvenience to all concerned. A new roller l2 can immediately be installed by removing the end cap 40 and retaining ring 51 in the manner previously described.

The threaded connection 26, 27 between the two opposed inner race portions 22 and 23 is obviously only one of various ways of holding these parts together. Alternatively, the parts 22 and 23 may be securedv to one another by a simple unthreaded press fit, by a bayonet joint at the locations 26 and 21, or'they may merely be permitted to abut one another, since they are already held in assembly against the end 21 of the carriage l4 by the nut 20 threaded upon the threaded portion [9 of the axle l1.

What I claim is:

1. An anti-friction bearing unit for a roller skate wheel and axle assembly comprising an inner race having a bore therethrough for receiving the axle and having an annular raceway, a pair of rows of bearing balls mounted in said raceway, an outer race encircling said inner race and having an annular raceway engaging said bearing balls, said outer race having an outer surface configured to receive the skate roller, said outer race having a roller abutment portion at one end thereof and having its opposite end threaded, an annular threaded roller retaining element threaded upon said threaded end, said outer race having an internally bored outer end portion, and an end closure element secured in said bore, said closure element having an outwardly projecting portion extending outwardly into the path of said roller-retaining element.

2. An anti-friction bearing unit fora roller skate wheel and axle assembly comprising a tubular inner race having a bore therethrough for receiving the axle and having a pair of spaced annular raceways,-a pair of rows of bearing balls mounted in said raceways, a tubular outer race encircling said inner race and having a pair of spaced annular raceways engaging said bearing balls, said outer race having an outer surface configured to receive the skate roller, said outer race having a roller abutment portion at one end thereof and having its opposite end threaded, an annular threaded roller retaining element threaded upon said threaded end, said outer race having an internally bored outer end portion, and an end closure element secured in said bore, said closure element having an outwardly projecting portion extending outwardly into the path of said rollerretaining element.

PAUL REBMANN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the flle of this patent:

UN ITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Nov. 9, 1942 

